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Corpus Christi Watershed

Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Does Watershed Make A Difference?

Jeff Ostrowski · September 13, 2017

4450 picture S YOU KNOW, all of us here at Watershed are volunteers. We have no staff and no salaries. Every so often, my fellow bloggers and I wonder if we are making an impact on the “real world.”

Here’s something powerful we recently received from Maryland:

Dear Corpus Christi Watershed,

I wanted to send a note to tell you what an incredible blessing your webpage and blog have been to me.

I am a vocalist and have been all my life. I am very studied, though I have no formal degree in music (in high school, thinking I’d never pay the bills with music, I got a degree in something else that makes no money and required a Master’s degree for employment!). I am an educator by trade. When I had my first child, I quit working full time but was asked shortly after to cantor at my parish—I wasn’t even fully Catholic at the time! Through much prayer, I discerned God was calling me to lead my parish’s music program when our brand new pastor came to our parish in 2013. I was hired as a part-time music director in early 2014 (right before finishing RCIA and being received into the Church at Easter Vigil).

For the past 3.5 years, I have been systematically implementing much of the good advice and practice I’ve gleaned from reading Views from the Choir Loft and endlessly exploring the Watershed website. Formerly our parish had folk Masses, Breaking Bread Missals, a volunteer choir that didn’t formally practice, and cantors only at big events. Now we have mostly organ-led Masses every weekend and feast, a more traditional Missal and Hymnal—allowing us to implement the communion antiphon—a regularly meeting and practicing choir, and (last year) we regularly sang in 2-part harmonies!

This past spring, you re-posted the Polyphonic rehearsal videos on Facebook and I knew I had to take advantage of that golden resource. Our county’s deanery planned a Fatima pilgrimage: a celebration the 13th of the month for six straight months at a different parish around the county. I knew when I saw those rehearsal videos that we had to utilize them for our turn (which was tonight).

I have an all-female choir of about 8 dedicated women who sing every Sunday. During Christmas and Easter I convene a “festival choir” and get a few more volunteers to make our bigger Masses more special. So, I recruited another 15 men and women to join us for tonight’s Mass, using music almost entirely from your page:

—Guerrero’s Missa Iste Sanctus

—Hymn to Mary

—Hail, Holy Queen

—A communion antiphon for the Marian Mass we chose that Richard Rice whipped up for me when I cried for help on the CMAA page a few days ago!

—Filled out the time with a few well known Marian and Eucharistic hymns.

We had about 250-300 in attendance (full for our little parish). It was a huge success! My pastor was blown away at the beauty of the Mass setting by Guerrero. The people in attendance were just floored by how the 4-part choir enhanced the Mass. To quote our priest and echoed by others, they felt “like we were in heaven.” One older gentleman and his wife approached me after Mass and thanked me for the pleasant surprise. He said “I already knew I was going to witness the miracle of the Blessed Sacrament tonight, but never did I think I’d open a program and see the MISSA ISTE SANCTUS.”

I just cannot thank you enough for how much your ministry has helped me grow and helped me introduce my parish to the incredible sounds that the human voice is capable of. I hope you’ll share some of my story on your blog and social media to encourage others to get out of their comfort zone and try beautiful things in their liturgies! My only regret is that with the stress of the night, I didn’t get any video or audio to send to Jeff Ostrowski so he could he could hear how all his soprano singing was worth it—to see little old ladies and scared young tenors singing sacred polyphony for the first time in their lives!


For whatever reason, these last two weeks have been full of heavy crosses.

A letter like this was so gratifying to receive!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “The Worm That Dieth Not”
    My pastor asked me to write a column for our parish bulletin with reflections on the sacred liturgy and church music. In my most recent article, I discuss “The Worm That Dieth Not.” At this website, you can access it conveniently; simply scroll down to the one dated 31 August 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 21st in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir returns on Sunday, 24 August 2025. Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for it, which is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website. When it comes to the feast of the Assumption (15 August 2025), I have uploaded the music list for that Mass—but not the “bi-lingual” Mass in the evening (Spanish, Latin, and English) which has completely different music.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“For any member of laity, who is at least somewhat literate, the ignorance of the Latin tongue, which we can call a truly Catholic language, indicates a certain lack of affection towards the Church.”

— Pope Pius IX

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.